The Dark and Wild
by crystalline talisman
Summary: Over 10,000 years ago, we failed to see the Dark fall. It slipped in, and consumed the earth in the Cataclysm, and now we are as fragmented as the world we live on. Some of us fight for the light, some for the darkness, but most of us have fallen. Yet in the absence of light, all we have is hope, and I believe I have found it. AU. Zutara, with some BluePaint and Blutara.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything pertaining to it.

**Full Summary:** Over 10,000 years ago, we failed to see the darkness arrive, but now we are consumed by it. We are children of darkness, fighting to restore light. But there are those who would stop us, profit off our suffering. I believe I have found the light to lead us back, but I can't be sure. Until that time, I will stay strong and I will fight. My name is Katara; I am the last waterbender from the South Pole, and I will not yield. Eventual Zutara, with Blutara and BluePaint.

**A/N:** I'm still working on Polar Nights (I'm actually working this time, but I'm taking it slow and trying to do it right, I promise), but for some reason, I got the inspiration to write a little darker story here. This is a fusion of plot elements from the story I planned on releasing named _Wild_ whose name obviously made it into the title, and for those curious it does incorporate canon facts released in the Legend of Korra series released about the background and history of the Avatar. That being said, reading this story is different enough that it shouldn't spoil anything that happens in the series. Rated T; the violence shouldn't be so bad, and I don't expect there to be that much language. And of course, no smut. :)

* * *

**The Dark and Wild**

Chapter 1: Dust to Dust

* * *

"Did you hear that?" my brother askes, pointing his flashlight towards a collection of debris in the Chamber of the Last Avatar.

"Hear what?" I reply, pointing my flashlight towards him.

"Will you point that out of my eye?" he growls, shielding his eyes with his hand before growing rigid in posture again, "There, there! Hear... that!"

"I hear ten thousand years of mold spores gathering to contaminate the air supply and effectively poison us, y'know, after we go crazy," I tease.

"Shh, listen," our friend says, pointing at the rock as well. "It's coming from here."

"_He is the __ultimate protocol... he is the ultimate protocol..._" a garbled voice says on some sort of loop, seeming to be trapped behind a wall of static and limestone.

"There, see, I'm not crazy!" my brother insists, pressing his ear to the rubble and trying to find the source of the noise.

"Is it a recorded orb?" I ask hopefully, moving towards my companion and taking his flashlight, scanning the two along the rocks to try and find the point of origin.

He crouches down and points his light into the darkness, "Could be. I doubt it's someone having an old fashioned tea party, though."

"Don't stick your hand in that hole," I protest, trying to shine the light in as I see him examining the outside of the hole with his hand. "You don't know what's in there."

"Looks harmless; only one way to really find out," he says, and I can hear him grinning until he yelps after sticking his hand in.

"Holy f-"

"Just kidding," he laughs, holding up a shining, blue sphere in his palm, no larger than an plump orange.

"You're a mean, spiteful jerk," I scowl, snatching it from him.

The younger boy moves over and wipes his glasses with his shirt before taking a look, "Looks old. Very old, probably from the third cycle, or something."

"Can you get it to play the whole clip? It seems to be stuck on some sort of loop, and half the dialogue is cut out. Plus the visuals are a mess." I inquire.

"I can do my best, but no promises. Looks like it degraded from being triggered on a loop, probably during the Cataclysm, and dust entered the recording device so the video and audio feeds have been degenerated."

* * *

"Don't look so disappointed. Teo will figure it out," my brother encourages. "In the meantime, eat some more sea prunes."

"I think I've had enough," I sigh a bit dramatically.

"Enough sea prunes? No such thing," he balks.

"They just don't taste the same anymore," I frown.

He puts a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "No, they don't, but we had them the other week and you loved them just fine. You're just anxious to know what's on the recording. And you know it. It's only been two days, anyway."

Maybe he had a point. But that orb was found in the ruins of an ancient Air Nomad temple: a spiritual hub and former alter of worship for the great light spirit! If there would be anyway to summon him and restore him, perhaps the light would come back; that's what I want most.

"You guys are gonna wanna see this," Teo shouts, interrupting my train of thought as he jogs over towards the campfire. "I only restored some of it, but I got this brief clip. It's only partial, but it's great."

"Stop talking and play," I can barely contain my shouts.

_"And these energy stasis chambers will preserve the live-... inside it for how long?"_

_"Approximately twenty-... cycles, depending on the.. -nergy sources."_

_"And how will they be powered then?"_

_"Crys-... energy; we've built the stasis chambers deep in the heart of the ... below the..., and we should be able to have plenty of energy to susta-... -ability. In the event... failure of energy... all power will ...-eactivate and re-divert to prese... the child; he is the ulti-... protocol."_

_"So those preserved... -mately die in order to preserve... -ild?"_

_"Yes, but it is critical-"_

"You can't just stop it there!" I all but scream out.

"Sorry, but that's all there is," Teo frowns.

"Great," I grumble.

"But," he continues.

"Always wait for the 'but,'" Sokka looks expectantly at Teo.

"I'm gonna keep working on it to see if I can clean up the audio to find out where this stasis area is. But we have a look at it, and it seems like the stasis chambers were in some sort of underground area with a lot of crystals. I think in the audio the second voice was saying they were somehow harnessing energy from the crystals to preserve the bodies."

Sokka clapped me on the shoulder. "The light is on our side."

"The light is on our side," I repeat, running my thumb over what's left of the necklace around my throat, staring at the crackling, blue-black flame.

* * *

I don't remember when I fell asleep, but it must have been gradual because I do recall Sokka and Teo discussing the distortion pockets in gravitational fields in addition to new areas of dark radiation. To be honest, I don't know much about distortion pockets (something to do with gravity is either stronger or weaker), but the dark radiation is something I'm well-versed in as a healer.

However, none of this is a concern because I have a man with his hand around my throat whispering hoarsely in my ear, "Don't make a sound." A raider.

I try to swallow, but it seems to convince him I'm testing him and he squeezes tighter as I try to claw at his fingers to release me.

"Where are your findings?"

"What findings?" I try to play off innocently.

"Don't play coy, little girl. I know you found an orb, among other things. I came here to do my own investigating,"

"You mean raiding," I choke out.

"As you prefer to call it; regardless, I figured I'd let you do the heavy lifting."

I glare at him angrily, or rather, the shadow of him as I am unable to see anything in this eternal and cursed darkness. I will not let some rogue steal and pawn off what I have found for the sake of a few gold coins to buy booze and women. I go to move my hand so I can summon a jet of water, but he seems to read my mind and grabs my wrist while tightening his grip on my throat.

"You seem incapable of following directions," he snarls, his breath hot on my face. "I will snap your little neck, then go to the next tent and kill your brother and the geek without a second's hesitation. Play it smart. Live to fight another day," he taunted.

"The tent," I manage to gasp out, fighting for every breath of air I can get.

His grip releases some and he rises, only to pull a pistol out of his hip and strike me across the face with it.

I never lose consciousness, but I can't move at first (my head feels excruciating), and I feel disoriented and woozy. It was almost like being trapped between dreaming and being awake. My senses finally come around when I hear a loud bang. Shortly after, Sokka comes rushing to grab me and says, "We have to go, we have to go. Het up!"

"Where's Teo?" I ask, seeing the panic in his eyes.

"He's... he's on the airship, but there was a dark spirit and... we just have to go!" he shouted.

I rise to my feet, trying to grab my things and Sokka pulls me out after him. It is now when I notice that a thick smoke is clouding the already dense air and the gardens of the Air Temple are consumed by a black flame. I turn to see a dark spirit circling the temple and find whatever small amount of energy I have left to follow my brother to the airship. The engines were already rearing and he wasted no time in sealing the bay door and plunging us down through the thick, grey clouds towards the earth.

Or what's left of it. Many of the lands of the earth are scorched by the elements, some even being barren of anything except thick clouds of darkness that no one dares cross. The terrain seems to be perpetually shifting almost so gradually you don't recognize it, and yet also so suddenly. I can remember a time where there were more rivers in the Earth Kingdom, but now most of them are gone, as if the earth came up and swallowed them whole. There are also the gravitational distortion patches and dark radiation hot zones marked on all airship navigational grid maps, or more commonly called NavGrids.

A distorted form of light trickles down and has a purplish tint to it. The only exceptions are the yellow glows of metropolitan areas spread around the globe. But since we're low to ground, I can't see any nearby cities, however, the white light of the airship probably show what the world would look like in normal light... I _think_. I can't remember the last time I saw true light.

When we land on the ground (a rough landing at that), we're outside a border town in the Earth Kingdom and I sink to the ground, my eyes stinging with tears of anger.

I inhale deeply, then pull my fist back and throw a punch into the metal dashboard of the ship. I know I've damaged my hand more than a metal plate, but I'm just so angry. I start to scream and curse and thrash and Sokka sits there, hands in his lap.

"We were lucky," he sighs.

"Lucky?" I shriek.

"Lucky the dark spirit was more interested in shacking up in the Air Temple and turning the spiritual connection into dark zombie spirit breeding grounds rather than giving us dark radiation poisoning the way he did Teo! Lucky the raider didn't just shoot all of us, or do something even more indecent with you," Sokka snapped back. "We don't have many good things in this life; we barely have anything! Aren't we just feeding into the darkness if we don't sit and be thankful for what we did manage to come away with?"

Maybe he's right, but I don't care. That orb had a hope the Air Nomads believed could rid us of the darkness; that orb had my hope.

"So what now?" Sokka finally asks after letting me stew for a few moments.

"Nothing's changed," I say, my voice hot with anger. "We're going to find the light. We're going to find this kid."

* * *

_Posted: 11/26/2013_

**A/N: **I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know what you think and any thoughts or questions you might have, as well as criticisms! This is a bit shorter than I wanted, but I cut it off here or else it would be awkwardly long for a first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Dark and Wild**

Chapter 2: And Away We Go

* * *

I don't like to sit still for long, too many bad things can happen. Especially in this world. That's why towns try not to get too big; dark spirits are drawn to the energy - especially any kind of semblance of positive energy, so we do our best to avoid drawing attention. A lot of people are nomadic now, moving from town to town, and bartering small goods with one another.

We have ships that fly in the air using hydrogen energy, and we're bartering like hunter gatherers. _Incredible_.

Teo is being treated in a small clinic by me with some help from a nice girl from the Earth Kingdom; she has brown eyes that look as cheerful as she possibly could be, but her face is tired. Song - the girl - is tired of the dark radiation; we all are.

There is no cure for dark radiation. Technically, what these people are plagued with is not really 'radiation;' we learned that about a hundred years ago. It's pure darkness, and it begins consuming its hosts rapidly from the inside out. Those completely consumed become what we call "Hollows," and at that point, there's really only one thing left to do unless you want a Hollow to do... what it does best. But even for those of us who have seen the worst, sometimes it's easier said than done when it comes to actually pulling the trigger.

I go out to Sokka, rotating my wrist to loosen it. It cracks a few times as I tell him, "The dark radiation didn't spread as much as I initially suspected, but it did do some damage. But Teo'll make it."

"What are we looking at?" my brother asks, his voice as even as he could make it.

"He'll need a wheelchair for the rest of his life," Song frowns, coming up beside me.

Sokka covers his face with his hand, and I sigh somewhere between sadness and relief; at least Teo still has his mind. That's more than a lot of people can say. Sometimes the darkness plagues the mind and people suffer a whole plethora of problems - split personalities, varying degrees of amnesia, or they develop sociopathic tendencies. Sokka hasn't had to try and heal someone, and watch himself fail - again and _again_. Not the way Song and I have. Not the way most healers do.

With dark radiation, we can only stop the spread; we cannot undo the damage that's been done. It used to be that Ba Sing Se was the center hub of treatment for dark radiation, but with dark spots appearing all over the world, many medics, healers, nurses, and doctors went to learn treatment techniques and returned to their homes.

"Thank you, Song," I say to her as she bows her head a bit before returning back inside the small hut.

Sokka plops down on the wooden deck, and I come to sit beside him, laying my head on his shoulder and putting an arm around him reassuringly. We both stare at the small town - village, even, that is just a few meters away from the clinic.

When I was a child, I would have probably cried, but this is nothing new. This is our world now, and I'm all out of tears left to cry.

* * *

"You don't have to explain," Teo says to us. "I know the risks if I go. When I'm feeling better, I'll take the first train I can to Omashu and hit the labs again. I know that without the orb we don't have a lot to go on, but, my memory is pretty good and I can try and look through geological survey maps to find any notable crystal deposits that could contribute to these kind of stasis pods. And I also found something reading through digital scans we took of the inside of the ruins," he hands the virtual screen to me so I can look through the scans.

"This is all in ancient script," I frown as I slide my finger across the screen to look at the photos. Sokka purses his lips as he looks over my shoulder._  
_

"Yeah, but I've managed to translate some of it, I think," Teo replies. "It's talking about some 'Light of the Worlds,' and a 'Gateway to Acension.' I also caught two names; 'Raava' and 'Vaa-something'. I can't really make out the second one; part of the charavter is broken off from the wall's carvings."

"Huh, well, I guess that's something to work with. I'll do some research of my own when I get a chance if you keep things up on your end," Sokka mused, then puts a hand on Teo's shoulder. "We'll figure this out, and get your legs back, okay?"

"We'll find the orb, Teo, don't worry," I tell him, the confidence in my voice unwavering. I don't promise we can get his legs back, because I've made so many promises I haven't been able to keep, I don't want to add to the running tab. It's not that I didn't want to, or that I didn't try - because I tried _so_ _freaking_ hard, but no matter what I did, sometimes, it just wouldn't happen. And I really don't know if we'll ever be able to undo dark radiation damage, but I do know, that we can stop it from continuing, so that's the hope I'll hold onto.

"Hey, Katara, don't forget your, um," he points at my throat and I nod once.

"Bruises don't mend well," I reply, having earlier tried to erase the hand around my throat but having only mild success. The deep reddish color has faded since I healed the broken vessels and it's more of a pink color, but since contusions are just coagulated blood there's not much I can do. For now, I'll just rely on makeup to soften the impression left on my neck.

He smiles some at us, then waves us off, as if to say, 'Go along and get out of here.'

It's now morning, and the sky is a blended kind of grey, with darker and lighter swirled into one another. This is what we call 'good weather' nowadays. Used to be, the sky was this type of grey, but had small cracks in it, as if this sort of blue was trying to break through. It disappeared probably ten years ago, when I was 8 or 9. I do remember when I was younger I saw portraits drawn in a cave once, some ancient ruins outside Gaoling, where the sky was painted this incredible shade of blue, kind of like the cracks that used to be in the sky. It must have been incredible for the whole thing to be that color, I think. I would like to see it; I must see it, I tell myself.

Sokka and I sit and discuss things for a few minutes, and we decide it's best to restock on some supplies here. Airship travel is fast and safer than any ground traveling (especially with the NavGrids that can point out any zones that we need to avoid), but it can't predict dark spirit patterns, and we've had plenty of close encounters when it comes to having the engine blown out.

He decides to stock up on food supplies, especially anything that holds well (like dried or canned goods), since he's the food guy, and I go for the more practical things like matches, lighters, hydrogen batteries, and reinforced steel cables and ropes. I've also made a decision that I'm going to ask some of the local people if they've heard anything that could be useful. So that means it's time to hit the local tavern.

There's a woman with dark hair and heavy eye makeup sitting at a table with her feet propped up. Her hair is a straight, thick curtain and her left arm is covered in a sleeve of tattoos while the right has some dramatic Earth Kingdom tribal markings on it. She has heavy black boots on, propped up on a chair, leather gloves with the fingers cut out, and her hand clutched around a glass of dark liquor.

"North Pole?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"South," I reply going to her table.

"Ah, yeah, I hear it in the accent."

"Tu Zin?"

She snorts, "Ha, as if. Born and raised here, but if something catches my eye, I do get to enjoy some freedom outside." The woman moves her arm and shows me a badge on her hip, probably a bounty hunter one.

"Katara," I offer. "I'm looking for someone."

The corner of her mouth tugs upward and she asks, "What's your type?"

"The kind with information," I say.

She finishes her drink and wipes the crimson lipstick stain on the glass off with a motion of her thumb. "Many are. What are you looking for in particular?"

"New excavation sites, antiquities markets, any type of areas of geological intrigue - especially with crystals. And any people that might be worth talking to with that kind of knowledge, I suppose."

"No problem. But, ah, ah, ah," she wags her finger, "let's not pretend you don't know how this works."

This woman is an information broker, one of the most important kinds of players in the world these days. Why tell someone anything for free when there's money to be made? If someone wants to know something bad enough, they'll pay anything - anyway they can. If prostitution is the oldest profession in the world, information brokering can't be far behind.

"Yeah, yeah," I roll my eyes. "And how am I supposed to trust your information is worth anything?" She has a hardened look to her, and she probably would be handy in a bar fight, but I'm not intimidated.

She smirks. "You know, there was a guy here a few weeks ago. Tall, brooding, a whole 'I have major daddy issues' look to him. Rich, too. I bet he's just your type. I can hook you up with him for free; he looks like he has a lot of _knots_ he needs worked out."

I ignore her jab, and start to stand before she chuckles.

"Oh, c'mon. Lighten up. Name's June. If you've played this game before, I'm sure you've heard of me," she introduces, popping a few nuts in her mouth and crunching on them. And she's right, I have heard of her before, though I was under the impression 'June' was a man.

"Fine, let's do business," I reply while pulling on my digital gloves to throw open a small screen on the table. I log into my photo captures so I can show her some antiques I'm willing to barter for the information.

"I don't normally do antiques," she laments. "Usually a cash business sort of thing."

I look up at her and sigh before pulling out a roll of cash and slamming it on the table. "Satisfied?"

"_Oh_, and your temper matches his perfectly. I'm telling you," she teased a bit, then pulled her feet off the chair and sat upright. "Well, since I already sold this juicy bit of info and give you my special buy one, get one free discount just because I actually kinda like your spunk. Word is, there's some very interesting... _appropriated_ antiquities that popped up in a market outside Kyoshi Harbor. I don't know much about it, but, I hear they're bringing stuff from all over the world. As for your other inquiries, I don't know much, but if you do make it towards Gaoling, there's supposed to be this very interesting broker that goes by the 'Blind Bandit.' Tell 'em June sent you, and I'm sure the Bandit'll throw you a bone."

I stand up, and zip up my leather jacket. "Thanks for your time."

"Anytime, puddin'. By the way, if there's something you're looking for in particular in Kyoshi, might want to move it on the double. I've heard the Fire Nation's really keen to squash some of the research that's been going on."

That rumor isn't new to me, but it _is_ alarming. If I know about Kyoshi, then it probably means the Fire Nation knows as well, and it could be only a matter of time before they destroy anything that could help us in our fight. If time were on our side, I would wonder what the Fire Nation's stake in destroying research is, especially because this would help the entire world, but time is not, so I will cross that bridge when I arrive upon it.

* * *

Kyoshi Harbor is a sea port that's part of a southern peninsula of the Earth Kingdom continent, not too far from the Southern Air Temple or the South Pole for that matter. It's got a giant wall dividing it from the next town up known as Chin's Village and it is heavily guarded. Despite its proximity to home, neither Sokka nor I have ever been here before, but we've heard of it before. Apparently, there was a great woman named Kyoshi who is responsible for the wall on the backside of the mountains being built. It had something to do with some kind of war between Kyoshi and the next town over.

"Welcome to Kyoshi Port," a middle aged man greets us gruffly after we land the ship. "Any goods to declare?"

Sokka and I sign the appropriate paperwork and get clearance to enter the village, obviously leaving off the amount of antiquities we're bringing into the port. We're not raiders or smugglers, but if we plan on going to a black market to look for a lead on any information about what we found at the Air Temple, we need something to barter with and we definitely don't have enough cash or any worthwhile information. I don't like the idea of trading pieces of history, but I need a lead.

There's some women wearing very traditional, very _old _stylized makeup along with gold emblems of fans on their green uniforms. They look like some sort of military, but I'm not familiar with the Earth Kingdom forces. I just start to wonder if it's got so many uniforms, how could there possibly be any kind of a black market here?

"So what now?" Sokka asks, looking at me.

"I don't know," I shrug, my stomach grumbling a bit. I did miss a few meals in all the chaos, but as keen as I am to eat, I'm more keen to find a lead. But the nagging in my stomach does remind me that so far there seems to be no sign of the Fire Nation, and if that's the case, to relax. Maybe for once, time is on our side. But I'm afraid to be too optimistic.

When I was a child and heard of the black market, I thought it would be a few stands underground with black signs and people in black, and just all sorts of stuff they're not supposed to have like stolen jewelry and automobiles and things. I wish it was that easy getting connected, though: _'Take a left at the tree, go into the cave and walk down a few flights of stairs, and you're there!'_ No, it's all about connections, and who you know, and who likes you, and who trusts you. You have to become a criminal in your own right to work with criminal; there is _no_ such thing as honor among thieves, _but_ there is a sense of comfort in knowing if you're going down someone else is, too.

Which means now, Sokka and I will just have to work our way around the market and try and ask people about products. The best places to start are obviously antiquities shops, because quite honestly, they usually don't get their stuff the proper way - even if they have the provenance papers to "back" it.

We step into a small shop with an elderly woman near the front of a shop doing some sort of needlework with beads. Traditional costumes restoration, I think. A younger guy sits behind a counter, his eyes glued to something on the back wall, which I guess are probably digital security screens, while a middle aged man stands in the middle of the shop.

Sokka pretends to browse some of the pottery and I go to look through paintings. Most of them are bland, and hardly qualify as antique - or the asking price - but I'm not here for that.

The middle aged man comes to me and says, "You see anything you're interested in? Buy a painting and I can give you a frame at a better price for a pretty young lady like yourself."

I glance over at him and smile a bit, still thumbing through the canvases. "I'm looking for something more.. interesting. For a private collection."

His lips grow tight. "I don't believe this is the suitable shop for you then."

He must suspect I'm an authority so I try to salvage the situation, "Sir - look at my eyes, I'm Water Tribe. I'm not hear to shut you down, I'm just looking for something in particular. Or someone? He maybe had a recorded orb and is about this tall," I suggest, holding my hand up above my head a good few inches. "He stole something from me and-"

"I think you should go," he says plainly. "It's time for us to close and I've no interest in that kind of business."

"But-" I protest, cursing myself for blowing it. He grabs my arm to guide me to the door and motions at the younger man to collect Sokka. "Hey, let go of me!"

The elderly woman smiles at me and hands me a card before I'm escorted out the door and says cheerfully, "Come see us again!"

Ugh.

"What the heck happened?" Sokka frowned, coming to my side as I cover my face with my hand.

"I don't know, I just asked discretely, as usual, and he just clammed up on me and threw me out. I didn't even get to explain what we were looking for in particular. Just - _ugh_!" I groaned, massaging my temples with my middle finger and thumb. "I just don't get it."

"What's that in your hand?" he asks, taking the card out of my hand and going to look at it.

"Some stupid business card the old woman handed me on my way to getting thrown out," I scoffed.

Sokka flipped it over, examining it a few times. "Hm," he says thoughtfully.

"'Hm,' what?" I ask, going to look over his shoulder.

"Hold this," he instructs, handing me his gloves and then scratching at the corner of the card. Some paint flakes off under his fingernail. Smiling triumphantly, he continues to scrape at the card until the remainder of the black paint is removed save for a time and what I can only assume is a restaurant: _11:30 PM, Weilin's Seafood_.

* * *

Weilin's Seafood is apparently a relatively unknown seafood restaurant near the back area of town. Sokka decides we should eat dinner there just to scope it out so we're not going somewhere blind. When I ask locals for directions in order to try 'traditional Kyoshi seafood' I got a few horrified looks and serious recommendations to reconsider my dinner choice. This is enough to make me apprehensive about dining there, and Sokka consoles me by promising if it's really that bad, we'll go eat somewhere else.

And it is definitely is that bad, but the information we collect is worth noting. It's small, almost worthy of being called a shack, with not many patrons. There's a young man with a scar along his throat working at the open grill (which looks like it needs to be incinerated to be cleaned properly), and a middle aged woman who could be his mother taking orders and payments from the patrons.

There's a huge silver door that looks like it's meant to be a freezer, but it has a padlock on it and I haven't seen anyone go inside to collect anything to eat. Sokka also notices a lot of security lenses throughout the restaurant.

"I count, hm, six," he mutters, slurping some soup and trying to keep his face straight. I pretend to have a headache so I won't eat, but if Sokka even finds the food appalling, it must be _really_ bad.

"That's a lot of lenses for a small place," I comment.

"Yeah," he replies. "No blind spots either; everything's covered, and one right in front of the freezer door."

"What's inside there?" I wonder. "Fish with scales made of pure gold?"

I also see an elderly man and a young man trying to make it through their dinner as well. The elderly man is polite and consumes the food while the younger one seems utterly disinterested in even feigning enjoyment. He's whispering intensely about something, but I can barely hear and I don't want to look overly curious. I would prefer to draw as minimal attention as possible.

I push the scene to the back of my mind and focus at the task at hand - decent food.

"Let's hurry up and pay, then get something worth eating before we come back."

* * *

When we return, I'm patted down by a gruff man that looks like he could eat an entire komodo rhino (and probably _did_), while Sokka gets patted down by the guy behind the grill from earlier. The only things we bring are our gloves that access our digital logs, a modest amount of cash, and an empty package of seaweed chips I devoured on the way here.

Eventually, the two men seem satisfied, and one of them guides us to the now unlocked freezer door. Behind it, it is as I suspected and not really a freezer at all. There's a hatch open on the floor with some heavy sacks moved aside, and stairs leading one flight down. Sokka and I exchange glances, then walk down the stairs, him leading by just a hair as if he's part of some older brother, one-man protection detail despite us both knowing I'm more than capable of handling myself when the situation arises.

When we reach the bottom of the stairs, the room is empty and very dark. It's small, with a desk, with a person sitting on the opposite side of it, completely engulfed by shadows. I shudder as I remember the dark figure of the man who wrapped his fingers around my throat, as if to protect it. It's a little painful and the skin is still tender, but I try to retain my composure as best I can.

We sit down, and a distorted voice says, "What can I interest you in?"

Sokka looks at me, then back to the figure and replies, "We're looking for a recorded orb. It's partially damaged from age and looping, and it's deteriorated."

"You want a substandard item?" the voice almost snickers.

"It's valuable to us; since when do bla- _artifact dealers_ care as long as they make a profit?" I snap.

I can't see any eyes, but I imagine if I could, they would be trained on me. "I suppose the lady has a point. I've only a few recorded orbs, but I'll show you my collection."

"We'll need to view the recordings," I state.

"That will be extra."

"How is that fair? People can just look at pottery, books, tablets, and see everything about it in those images," I motion upwards towards the static digital screen behind the desk, "for free, at that I imagine, but I have to pay extra to make sure the product I'm looking for is what I want?"

"I have to actually let you handle the merchandise without purchasing if I do that," the voice says simply. "If you don't like the deal, then we don't have to do business."

The only problem with doing business with criminals and the black market, is that as afraid as they are of getting caught, they love to make a quick buck - even when the fate of the world is at stake. And as much as I want to scream at them, to tell this person what's at stake and how could they be so greedy when I'm trying to stop the darkness and bring us out of the abyss and into the light, it wouldn't even matter. I would either be called a foolish girl, or commended for my actions - but still required to pay the price on the tag. I know this because I've tried it.

"Let's just see if we can recognize the item by its outer appearance," Sokka whispers. "There were some serious stress cracks on the outside, and it had a greenish tint."

"Now let's see what I have here in my collec-"

"Get your hands off me you before I remove them for you," I hear a hostile voice shout at someone from behind us.

"Who is that?" I ask the person behind the desk.

Obviously in distress, the person forgets to distort his - or should I say _her_ voice and says, "I don't know."

I rise to my feet and instinctively move my hand past my jacket and onto my hip, when I realize that I have neither my canteen of water nor my gun. Sokka moves to stand in front of me, and I allow him to - knowing that as a nonbender, he tends to be slightly more experienced in hand-to-hand combat. I'm not proud of it, but there's nothing I can do in this situation.

All we can do is prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, 2 chapters down... more to go, lol. Thanks for the review so far, as always, and I look forward to writing more (and your thoughts!)


	3. Chapter 3

**The Dark and Wild**

Chapter 3: Nightvision

* * *

The next sound is loud bang, and my ears ring from the warning shot fired into the ceiling near the stairs. Part of the ceiling crumbles and falls down into the floor and the man coming down the stairs stops in his tracks.

"I won't miss with the next one," the woman warns, and out of the corner of my eye I see her reach for something. It must be a light switch because a second later, the lights flicker on.

I recognize that the woman is the woman from the antiquities shop, which doesn't surprise me all that much since she's the one who handed us a card, but the man is someone I don't recognize, _I think_. He looks familiar, but I can't place it if it's because I've seen him in person, or I've just seen him somewhere else. He's got dark, shaggy hair and his eyebrows are drawn together. His arms are folded and he's got a toothpick he seems to be keen on chewing on.

He steadies his position and glances over to my brother and me, then back to the woman who appears to pose a more immediate threat. I try to sense if there's any source of water in the room, but it appears to be limited to a glass of water on the table and the next source is in some heavy metal pipes circulating around the room. While my skills have improved since I left home, there's not much of a way for me to pull the water with enough force to push it through metal and concrete.

"I suggest you leave immediately," she orders.

"I'm not here to rob you, if that's what you're implying," the man shrugs.

"Then state your business," the woman replies, and I watch his eyes narrow.

"It's in my interest for your wares to not be confiscated, so I thought I would try and warn you that the Elite intend to raid your little," he looks around, "market."

She snorts. "Yeah, right. The Elite don't bother me and I don't bother them."

"Well, your under-the-table arrangement is off," he informs casually. "Not everyone has a price."

"And what's your interest in helping?" a voice cuts in, and I don't recognize that it's my own until his eyes are now trained on me. When he doesn't answer I try to reaffirm my dominance by narrowing my eyes back at him and asking, "Well?"

"My interest is that it's not really your concern," he replies with an overwhelming amount of arrogance to him. "But by all means, stay. I hear the courts of Kyoshi are really picking up on sentencing time for offenders with appropriated antiquities bought, sold, and traded illegally."

"How do you even know this raid is going to happen?" I ask again. Sokka shoots me a look that all too clearly says, '_Can it!_'

"I have my sources," he says, the same arrogance lingering on his tone. None of us budge, and stare at him as if to convey, '_We're not buying it._'

"My source that is reliable saw the Elites gearing up and discussing exploring this alleged restaurant. Someone gave them a tip about your little get-togethers down here." he explains, and I can hear the strained frustration in his voice.

"F-fine," I say, mostly unsatisfied, but deciding if he's lying, I'll make him regret it later. Truth be told, there's a sense of urgency in his voice - as if he really, _really_ doesn't want to be here - and there's something stirring in my chest that I should trust him. I don't want to, but something really convinces me that it's okay.

Sokka shoots me a look that shows me just how gullible he thinks I'm being; I know this because it's a consistent discussion we've had over the past few years. '_You have too much integrity and assume that everyone else is the same__._' He doesn't believe me when I say I'm just more in touch with my instinct, so I don't bother arguing anymore and instead kindly remind him I can freeze him to a tree if I choose.

I see the woman lower her gun a bit and jerk her head towards some large barrels near the back wall. "Move," she instructs the man. "Now."

He hesitates, but eventually complies, moving across the room towards the barrels. I seriously doubt he came in unarmed, but he's currently outnumbered and one of his opponents has a gun, so I suppose he chose to follow the idea of going along with whatever will extend his life expectancy the most.

"Alright, easy there, little lady," he mutters, holding his hands up and walking towards the barrels. "No need to keep that gun trained on me, I'm on your side."

She looks unconvinced and scoffs, "We'll see."

"Now what?" he asks, standing by the barrels and starting to lower his hands.

"Ah, ah," she admonishes. "Leave them up. Take your left hand and slowly reach between the barrels there. You should feel an indentation in the wall, so press against it," she then emphasizes, "s_lowly_."

"As you wish," he gives an arrogant smirk and I see his left arm disappear between the large wooden containers. His body sinks in a bit and I hear a loud noise before I notice some of the barrels begin to disappear from their current position and into the wall. A secret passage.

"Where does it go?" I ask impatiently, wondering how much time we have left.

"Under the mountain pass, we come out near Chin's Village. Way out of Kyoshi Elite jurisdiction," she explains, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Shall we then?" he asks, giving a small bow that exudes mockery and using his arms to point towards the way out. "Ladies first, of course."

"Watch yourself, boy," the older woman seethes. "Don't you test me. I have no qualms abut leaving you here for the Elites."

He looks up at her, then to me and gives me a devilish grin before returning his attention to her. "Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

The passageway reminds me a lot of what some of the underground tunnels look like leading into Ba Sing Se. Or, at least, the photographs I've seen. They tend to be dark and very crudely cut out, with very poor lighting. Some people who've been there swear up and down they've seen this eerie green glow but there's no proof to substantiate those claims.

With so many experiencing dark radiation poisoning, there was a huge movement of people trying to immigrate into the city. Of course they had open arms for a time, but as conditions worsened, the city found itself with an overwhelming amount of poverty and people it couldn't maintain. It then restricted its allowance of immigrants, and the desperate did what the desperate do: found another way. Rumor has it there's a special police force dedicated to finding these tunnels and getting rid of these residents, but rumor also says a lot of other things.

"So, I don't think I caught your name," the young man from earlier remarks as he slows down to walk beside me.

"That's because I didn't give it," I reply, applauding myself internally for my cool reply.

He smirks again, "Ooh. How about I give you mine for yours?"

"I'll think about it," I answer.

"Jet," he holds his hand out to me.

I look at it for a moment, deciding if I should accept the gesture, before grabbing him around his forearm and searching his eyes. "Katara."

"Ah, Water Tribe," he replies, noting that I advert grabbing his hand and grabbed his arm instead.

Most other cultures don't know this, but the reason this particular tradition began is to search for hidden blades; perhaps it's a bit antiquated, but when it comes to dealing with unsavory characters and a lot of strangers, I'm always thankful for this particular custom being a habit. The Earth Kingdom on the other hand is a fan of handshakes, while the Fire Nation is partial to a bow that involves placing a closed fist over their heart and lowering their heads.

"What's a rare flower like you doing in a place like this?" he asks. I'm not sure if he's trying to politely make conversation, get in my pants, pump me for information, or a combination of two or more.

I decide to be vague and as ambiguous as possible, "The same as you."

"How do you know what I'm doing here?" he climbs up a rocky incline and extends his hand to me.

"Aren't we all looking for something?" I reply. He gives me another grin, and I catch myself smiling back ever so slightly.

"Maybe we can help each other then," he takes the toothpick out of his mouth and winks before walking a bit faster to catch up to the elderly woman from the antiquities shop.

"Katara," Sokka says, his voice laced with concern.

"Oh, _stop_," I groan. "I'm fine."

"You have smitten painted all over your face. You're almost 19; shouldn't you be past the 'I like bad boys' thing?" he fusses in hushed whispers.

"I do not like bad boys!" I whisper yell in return, my face flushing. "I was just being polite."

"Well, make sure he keeps that 'polite,'" he uses air quotes, "tongue out of your mouth. I don't trust him. Something's up here."

Before I can retort or give him an appropriate smack on the back of the head, Sokka moves up a bit, lingering just behind the shaggy haired stranger.

A few minutes more of walking and we finally approach a wrought iron gate, with an unlit torch at its side. I look over to Sokka, who is looking back in the direction we came.

I give him a worried look and put my hand on his shoulder, "Something up?"

"It's quiet. Really quiet down that way. And dark, too." he replies. "I'm just starting to wonder if this is a set up."

"Don't worry," I try to soothe him and give a reassuring squeeze. "We'll figure this out."

"C'mon, sweetheart," Jet whistles at me. "Or are you lookin' to still get nabbed by the Elites?"

Sokka grabs my arm and looks at me, pleading, "Katara, let's go back."

"We're already here, Sokka. Besides, we need her to see if she's got the orb," I remind him. "We can't get it if we don't follow her."

His grip lessens on my arm and I take the opportunity to pull free and take Jet's offered hand. When I climb onto the raised stone platform and look back at my brother, giving him a look that tries to convey everything is fine.

Of course, when I actually make it outside, I recognize everything is _not_ fine the moment I have a hook bladed sword poised at my throat and hear a gun click.

Surrounding our group is a semi-circle of women; the same women from Kyoshi wearing green uniforms and heavy makeup. One walks up to us and holds out her hand to Jet.

"Thank you for your cooperation. The Elites appreciate your assistance in this matter," she casts a glance to us and the corner of her painted lips turn up. "As I'm sure you'll all find out, we do not tolerate illegal trading of antiques stolen."

I'm wondering why the elderly woman isn't shooting everyone's brains out (she seems the type to shoot first and ask questions later), but when I turn, I realize the gun is missing and an enormous man rivaling the one from the restaurant's exterior has the woman in binds.

I sigh in frustration, cursing the fact I hadn't listened to my brother. We should have never trusted this smooth talker.

"Now, a matter of reward," Jet twirls the toothpick in his mouth and I try to sense for any source of water.

"Turn over the prisoners, and we will discuss your compensation in full at a more appropriate time and place. We are still technically in Chin Territory, and we would like to leave before there's a diplomatic incident," she says firmly.

I glance over at Sokka and see him being tied up by one of the females. I hear him mutter something about how a bunch of females were even able to overpower him, and part of me hopes the female didn't hear his rambling._  
_

"I don't think so," Jet tightens his grip on my shoulder and I feel the hook blade press into my flesh.

"Let me go," I sneer through clenched teeth.

His eyes glance downward towards me and I swear I see him wink.

"Now, now, Suki. Is that anyway to treat your new ally? I mean," I feel his body weight shift and then hear a crack through the trees.

"Get down!" she cries, but a few are too slow. An arrow hits her square in the shoulder and she falls backwards, while another gets grazed in the leg.

Jet roughly shoves me forward and goes to engage Suki with his hook blades. A bit dazed from the abrupt fall, I can't help but watch them fight. He's fast and runs towards her, blades slinging to try and grab any part of her body, but she's even faster and pulls out two golden fans and begins to defend herself. The woman twists sideways, narrowly avoiding the rogue's blade and kicks him square in the chest, sending him stumbling back. He begins to charge at her again and she runs forward, sliding just outside his path before extending her arm to make him stumble. Jet falls forward and I see Suki push herself up and run behind him in an attempt to grab him and subdue him. It's about this time I feel less disoriented, and take the chance to make a run for it.

I rub my head a bit and then scan my eyes across to try and find my brother. I finally see him, sitting upright behind a tree. When I make it to him, I see he's got his hands tied behind his back and hastily moving his arms up and down. I crouch down and see he's found a sharp rock and is trying to saw the chain between the handcuffs apart.

"Let me," I offer, pulling a pin from my hair that holds part of my braid in place so I can trigger the lock free.

"I can't believe this," he mutters. "I knew that guy was bad news."

"Yeah, yeah, can we save the, 'I-told-you-sos,' for when we get out of here? These Elites aren't anything to mess with," I check around the trunk of our current hideout to see if we have any incoming assailants before returning my attention to Sokka's restraints.

"Fall back!" I hear Suki's voice ring through the air. My fingers work faster, trying to loosen the locking mechanism.

"While part of me is relieved the _police_ are leaving, I'm not sure Jet's brand of psycho is the flavor of shaved ice I want for dessert. Hurry up!" Sokka urges in a whisper.

"I'm trying," I snap back, and a huge wave of relief hits me when the lock finally springs free.

As he frees his hands he glowers at me, "We really need to work on your lockpicking skills."

"Save it for when we're out of here," I snap, standing up and pulling him to his feet.

"Katara, you can come out now," Jet calls. "We're not here to hurt you."

"Yeah, right!" I shout back and Sokka shoots me a look for revealing our position.

We immediately duck deeper into the woods, despite the risks of encountering a dark spirit, and move behind trees. I think I can sense a source of water nearby, but it's further away than I can pull so I try to steady my breathing and hope Jet will give up on trying to find us.

"Katara, look, I can explain everything. The Kyoshi Elite had raided this old bat's supply earlier this evening; I needed them away from the main city and away from reinforcements so I could get the tracking signal for the location of the antiquities," he calls into the woods. "I think you and I want the same thing, right? To be rid of the darkness?"

I peer around the side of the tree and see him standing at the entrance to the woods. I watch him put both of his hook swords down. "I'm sorry I threatened you, I just wanted to make it convincing for the Elite," he says.

"Whatever I want?" I ask, watching him carefully.

"Whatever. No strings attached," he promises. "Because I think you and I want the same thing, Katara. We want to be rid of the darkness, right?"

"Katara," Sokka's voice rings with that warning tone again.

But before I can answer Jet or my brother, I see a blur and suddenly the rogue whips around. I move my body around more of the tree, crouching and peering and what's suddenly caught Jet's attention.

There's a figure, no - a _shadow_ - that blends in with the darkness bathing the surrounding area all except for a blue devilish mask. It has fangs poking through a twisted smile that sends chills down my spine and a dao blade held up to the neck of a teenaged boy with hair almost as shaggy as Jet's and two streaks of red paint on each side of his face.

"Let her go!" Jet demands, his face flushed with anger. _Her?_

I look over to see his cool guy demeanor is gone, and he means business - but I'm confused as to what's going on and just who this figure swaddled in dark clothing with such a creepy mask is.

"Jet, I'm sorry," the female says, her voice wavering a bit.

"This is your last chance," he warns, ignoring the female's apologies. "Let her go, and we'll let you live." He raises his arm and an archer pulls the string back on his bow.

Refusing to speak, the figure points his other arm - which also has a dao blade - at the elderly woman.

"I'll give her to you when you return Smellerbee," he says icily.

The dark figure moves his arm from around her neck and gives a forceful shove with the hilt of his blade.

"Thank you, but that was a stupid choice," Jet smirks and motions with his hand.

The blue masked man moves his fist downwards and a cloud of dust appears, I lower my head down a bit, hoping I haven't been spotted yet and wondering if Sokka is as mesmerized as I am since he hasn't urged me to leave yet.

"Find him!" Jet roars, covering his face with the crook of his elbow to shield his mouth and nose from the cloud. "And keep an eye on the old woman."

Now I feel Sokka's arm on my shoulder and his lips to my ear. "Katara, let's go."

"We still don't have a lead on the orb," I hiss.

"We're not going to get one if we're dead, or worse," he mutters back.

I turn back to look at him and narrow my eyes.

Sokka rolls his in return and sticks his tongue out at me like a child, "You know what I meant."

"Just wait. I don't think the guy in black knows we're here."

"There's one of him, and like 5 of Jet and his band of merry douchebags; what makes you think the guy in a mask is my biggest concern?"

"Just _shhh_," I hiss, reaching to grab his shoulder and press him down. "Wait."

I'm not sure which one will win, nor do I actually have much of an investment in who would win in this confrontation, but I'm hoping that they'll both be distracted enough that I can grab the tracking scanner from Jet without him realizing it. I'm no ninja, but, if it could get me a lead on that orb with the data we recovered, it's worth a try.

"Look out!" I hear the same female voice shout and my attention snaps to see the archer's bow being sliced in half.

Jet's jaw drops a little and the toothpick he's been so fixated on gnawing on tumbles out of his mouth. The masked figure whirls around after sheathing his blades and does a backflip, reaching up and jumping onto a tree and becoming swallowed by the darkness again.

"Keep your eyes open this time!" Jet snaps again. A few moments pass by and though I can swear they were minutes, it's more likely they were seconds.

"Wait, where did she - Pipsqueak!" Jet yells. "Where did she go?"

The large man turns around to look at the now empty spot on the ground and then back at the man with two hook blades. "Huh? I, uh, I don't know."

"Unbelievable! Fan out and search for her! She's the only one who can open the security lock for some of the artifacts," Jet snaps.

I didn't even notice her move, and while I want to commend the dark figure on his excellent stealth techniques, I'm cursing myself because we lost our lead.

"Can we go now?" Sokka pleads, pulling me to my feet and deeper into the woods. "Let's just make it to the next town and find transport to somewhere - anywhere."

I give an absent nod, in the back of my mind deciding Gaoling should be our next stop, and then just like that, I hear a slight crack.

"This way," I whisper to him, running in the direction.

"Katara!" Sokka rasps, trying to keep up with me.

I suddenly see a clearing with the woman and the dark figure and he's got a photo that looks like something torn out of a very old book shoved in her face. She's chewing on her lip thoughtfully and then looks at the ground before saying something. When I finally make it into the clearing, the blue masked man whips around and has a sword pointed in my face before I can blink.

I step backwards and assume a defensive posture, then criticize myself for doing so when I'm neither armed with a weapon or water. I decisively ease my stance and lift my hands up innocently, "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk to her."

"I've not been this popular since high school," the woman jeers, earning a hostile look (the only kind that mask can convey) from the man.

His attention returns to me and he tightens the grip on the blade.

"Look, maybe we can help each other. I'm looking for something, too, and if it's on that ship, you need more than just one man to break into something secured by the military, don't you think?" I try reasoning with him.

His face flickers towards the direction I came from, and I see Sokka bursting through the thick of the trees into the clearing. When I turn back, the woman remains but the man in blue is gone.

"Where did he-," Sokka pants, bending over and putting his hands on his knees, "what did he-"

"I don't know," I mumble, looking through the trees again. "I don't know at all."

"He wanted this," the woman says, lifting up the slightly crumpled page and handing it to me. There's some artwork of some kind of contraption with a globe and a very dated projector. "It's an ancient device used to store and retrieve memories. Probably around 8,000 years old. It's useless without the memory crystals to accompany it, but... he seems resourceful."

I turn my attention back to her, but Sokka beats me to the punch. "Where did you tell him it was?"

"I don't know. For something this old and dated that no one has seen in years, you'd need to talk to something that's been around that long," the woman explained.

"Don't you mean _someone_?" Sokka corrected.

"No; she means we need to talk to a spirit," I answer.

* * *

**A/N: **Whew, okay, three chapters down. :D So I basically wrote this instead of doing my Chinese... or marketing homework. Or applying for jobs. Oops. Oh well, procrastination is my middle name. And now we have the introduction of our famed Blue Spirit; I hope the story's starting to pick up a little bit and you are all enjoying it thus far. Don't forget to drop me a review and let me know how I'm doing. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**The Dark and Wild**

Chapter 4: Voyager

* * *

The reason we are so eager to follow the blue masked man's lead was not because I wanted to thank my "savior" for his... sudden, yet helpful, appearance outside Kyoshi Harbor; it's because I have seen drawings of the machine before - in many of the Air Temples, actually. On the page the old woman handed to us earlier that night, there was also a sketch of what the memory crystals look like. It's impossible for us to decipher the script on the pages (it's an ancient script neither Sokka, I, nor the old woman can read), but Sokka is _very _enthused because we actually have memory crystals and as soon as he pointed it out to me, I think I could have done a backflip (if I was more acrobatically inclined).

We never knew what they were before, so we just assumed they were simply prisms and found them beautiful so we decorated Teo's lab with them in Omashu. I think I even sent a few home to my grandmother, also. A few of them were shattered and just mere fragments we hadn't bothered to restore, some were broken in large pieces, but we definitely had one or two that were complete. Maybe these memory crystals can tell us the secret about the crystal stasis. The orb, was, for all intensive purposes lost to the Kyoshi Elite who would be all too pleased to arrest us for illegal trading if we ever show our faces again, but, maybe there was a different way to go.

But this means in order to ask about this kind of machine, technology, and anything, we have to find a spirit first. And that... was tricky.

"Are you sure?" Sokka asks me for what has to be the umpteenth time.

"Yes," I answer, not bothering to conceal the annoyance in my voice.

"But, are you really, _really_ sure?" he repeats. "It just seems... like a bad idea."

I snap my eyes over to look at him. "For the bazillionth time, yes, Sokka! We need to find a spirit to talk to, and I think our best chance is here," I whip out the map I have of the Earth Kingdom territories and draw my finger in a circle around a swamp. "There's apparently some intense sort of spiritual-kinetic energy there, and I want to look into it."

"Yeah, but, it's also a..." his voice trails off, and I close my eyes as I turn my head to face the window.

"A dark zone, I know," I finish. "I'm not thrilled about it either."

We're taking a hover train because it's the fastest and safest means of travel - with respect to anonymity. Thankfully, Chin's Village has no intention of extraditing to it's hostile neighbor, but unfortunately, our belongings are all collectively stuck in Kyoshi Harbor. Unless we want to face the very angry Kyoshi Elite, the best choice is to just cut our losses. And though I say it's the _fastest_ means of travel available, it will still be the late afternoon when we arrive because this train makes a stop at every destination between here and Omashu.

This is exceptionally unfortunate because we have very little with us due to the sequence of events that has led us here. All in all, we have exactly what we brought with us into the restaurant, plus the picture we received from the old woman of the device, and the canteen of water I bought from the train station since my bending is really the only tangible weapon we have aside from Sokka's modest hand-to-hand combat.

I must have sighed because I feel my brother's arm wrapping around my shoulder and pulling me into his chest.

"It's okay, we're going to figure this out," he promises. "We always do."

I'm glad Sokka has taken to being the reassuring one for tonight. I'm just so frustrated and tired by everything that happened tonight that I don't even have the energy to do it for myself. I decide that I'm going to try and occupy the remaining forty-five or so minutes by thinking about what we should do next.

Of course, there's no train that's going to willingly stop in a dark zone to let passengers out, so we have two options: get off at the nearest stop and travel from there, or make your own stop. Since jumping out of a high speed hover train is highly inadvisable (and damned difficult to stop if you want a slower means), we get out at a small town named Banqiao. From there, the swamp's possible to reach.

When we get off, it's after 4 in the evening, and we see that Banqiao is quite, well, deserted. Apparently, the proximity to the swamp makes it an uncomfortable place to be. I also spot something that catches my eye.

"Hey, check this out," I call to Sokka, walking over. "It's a bounty."

"What, you want to be like that biker chick June or something?"

"No," I make a face at him. "He's called the Blue Spirit."

Sokka rubs the stubble on his chin thoughtfully as he reads over the poster for the figure we saw between Chin's Village and Kyoshi. "Huh. Must've ticked a lot of people off for the Fire Nation to be willing to make deals with Earth Kingdom towns to extradite the guy. Wonder what he did."

His only listed crime was ambiguously 'wanted in connection for crimes against the crown.' It would be a lie for me to not admit I spent a lot of time on the train thinking about the man behind that terrifying mask, but since Sokka and I are now chasing the lead this man seems to hold a high stake in, something told me I would see this mysterious Blue Spirit again. It is all just a matter of when and where.

I shrug to my brother, then rotate my wrist a bit and he suggests, "Let's find somewhere to stay for tonight. We need a good rest if we're going to make it to the swamp in a day's trip."

I nod my head in agreement, then touch the broken pendant around my neck. I was very nervous about what was in store for us tomorrow.

* * *

We find a cheap, but hospitable inn to stay in last night and Sokka and I immediately fall asleep when we close and lock the door. We barely had the energy to brush our teeth and take off our heavy pants and boots, and none to eat dinner so we decide we'll make up for it with a heavy breakfast.

I wake up before Sokka does, who is completely content holding the pillow to his chest, and stretch my arms a bit. The clock says it's just after 6:40AM, which is well before I planned on being awake, but then again, I had fallen asleep around 5 the evening before.

I feel the grime and stickiness of trying to escape from Kyoshi Elite and rebels on top of two days without a proper bath or shower, so I stand up and pull my pants back on. Into a dark, dirty, and terrifying swamp my brother and I may go, but I refuse to go another day without some sort of display of personal hygiene.

I pull the beads holding the loops of my braid back and undo it in its entirety before grabbing a towel and going into the bathroom. After stripping down, I hang my clothes on the towel rack nearby the shower so some of the steam can refresh them just a bit. I step into the shower after doing so and am pleasantly surprised the hot water has decent pressure and isn't inundated with bursts of ice cold water. It's not that I _can't_bear a cold water or I'm not used to them, but truthfully unless it's insufferably hot (like in the Fire Nation), _no one _likes a cold shower.

The glass is fogged when I come out and I wipe it with my hand so I can lean in and check the mark on my neck. It has, thankfully, grown a little less severe looking and I sigh a bit in relief. The makeup had worn off quite a bit between the unpleasant turn of events in Kyoshi Harbor and our arrival to Banqiao, and I believe some of the attendants on the train as well as the receptionist downstairs suspect that I'm the victim of domestic abuse. I tell myself a few more days, and I can stop worrying about applying makeup to conceal the markings.

There are some dark circles under my eyes, but they've also faded in comparison to last night. Since I've been traveling with my brother, I've lost a lot of weight and grown leaner; since we don't live in the South Pole anymore, we don't need nearly the amount of fat intake we had before to keep warm. My face was the first to thin, but the weight also dropped off other parts of my body, and now I'm a little less curvy than I was when I first left home around 16, but, I still tend to be more shapely than a lot of women - which occasionally gets me places. My favorite thing about myself though is definitely my eyes; Sokka and I both have blue eyes, but his are a icy, lighter blue and mine are a darker blue, almost like the color of the ocean when you're out far from the shoreline.

"Knock, knock," Sokka yawns as he knocks on the door. "Better not have used all the hot water up."

"I didn't," I reply quickly and step out, still wrapped in my towel with my clothes in one hand. After the door to the bathroom closes behind him, I finish towel drying and change into my clothes, then proceed to bend as much of the excess water as I can from my hair. I could have also done this for my skin when I came out of the shower, but I truthfully enjoy the sensation of a soft, fluffy towel on my skin, so I often omit this step unless circumstances don't allow it.

I rap on the door slightly with my knuckles and tell Sokka I'm going downstairs to ask if there's any sort of breakfast or tea available to eat. He must be brushing his teeth because his mouth sounds full when he replies, "Okay, sounds good!"

I trot downstairs and speak to the receptionist, who gives me a polite smile and motions with her hand to a small room to the side.

"We offer tea, juice, fresh fruit, eggs, pastries, and smoked ham for breakfast for an extra 10 copper pieces" she explains. I don't find the price unreasonable, so I fork over the money to cover myself and Sokka and she smiles and says after I pay, "Please help yourself."

And I fully intend to. I go to fill my small plate with some fruit, plenty of ham and eggs, and one pastry. I set the plate down, then look through the selection of tea available. There's rose, white dragon flower, green milk, and orange cinnamon, and none are on my list of top choices.

"Try the white dragon flower," a voice cuts through the silence.

I glance over and see a rather plump man reading some sort of book and sipping on his own cup of tea. He's wearing heavy boots, and his clothing looks distinctly military.

"White dragon flower is wonderful for giving you energy in the morning, although," his voice grows a bit concerned, "rose is also good for healing injuries." I notice his eyes have trailed from mine to my neck and I put my hand over it protectively.

"No, it's not like that-" I stammer quickly, slightly embarrassed. Though many have clearly observed my injury, no one has mentioned it before.

"Young couples like to try new things, it's perfectly alright, I don't judge," he smiles a bit and I grow even more embarrassed.

"I- no!" I cover my eyes with my other hand, feeling myself start to grow warm. "There was this... rebel attack, and I just, I'm fine and he didn't do anything dishonorable," I explain, hoping to avoid yet _another _misunderstanding, "but yeah, he made a few threats is all."

"You poor child," he frowns and closes his book. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Did you report it to the authorities?"

"It was in between territories, so I don't know if anything can be done," I say, avoiding eye contact as I pour the rose tea. "Besides, I've seen a lot worse."

He nods solemnly before saying, "Perhaps you would care to join a kind old man for breakfast? It would surely make this humble man's day."

"Oh, I don't know," I start to say. "My brother is-"

"-welcome to join us when he arrives. I promise, I mean no harm," he smiles warmly. "Please. My nephew did not want to join me this morning, so I'm alone."

"O-okay," I reluctantly agree, taking a seat across from him with my tea after I grab my plate of food.

"Such beautiful eyes you have, Miss-" he hesitates and leaves an opening for me to interject my name. I don't take it.

"Thank you. My mother gave them to me," I say lightly and take a sip of the tea.

He doesn't show any sort of annoyance that I don't offer my name and continues with the flow of the conversation as I eat. "Then she must be just as beautiful as you."

"_Was_," I correct, my voice trembling a bit. "The dark-"

"Say no more, child," he says gently. "I've yet to meet someone who has not lost someone."

"I'm sorry for your loss or losses, then," I say lamely. His point does ring true; even if he didn't specify who he lost, I'm sure he lost someone.

"As am I for yours."

His eyes look weary and sad, but he takes a sip of his tea and then the warm smile returns to his lips. "Tell me, child, have you ever read _Love Amongst the Dragons_?"

"Ah, what?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. "I've never heard of it."

"Oh, what a tragedy!" he exclaims dramatically. "It's such a wonderful story. Traditional Fire Nation one, actually."

"I didn't know that Fire Nation stories were so popular in the Earth Kingdom," I replied.

"Oh, usually, they're not, but Banqiao is a Fire Nation colony."

Uh. Oh.

"Are you from the Fire Nation then?" I ask, trying to mask any concern in my voice.

The Fire Nation has suddenly become relevant again if I'm in a colony with respects to its interests in artifacts; it's possible they're also following the same lead I am when it comes to this Blue Spirit character, and it could mean a spot of trouble if my brother and I end up in the middle of the crossfire between the Blue Spirit and some opponent. It probably is also worth mentioning the Fire Nation and Water Tribes have never seen eye to eye. _Ever_.

"Yes," he answers after a moment and clears his voice. He seems harmless, but part of me is wondering if he's testing my response, "Have you ever been there?"

"Ah, no." I tell him quickly, then look to shift the topic, "But what's the story about?"

"Ah, it's a love story, and ah, it's just so beautiful. My nephew is probably the only person in the world who likes the story more than I do, though he might be quite cross if he heard me say that," he says.

"Hey there... _sis_," Sokka says from behind me, careful to not use my name. "How's it going?"

"Fine," I smile at him and motion at the chair, which he promptly takes. "This, um, gentleman was telling me about this story called _Love Amongst the Dragons_."

"Oh!" his eyes widen. "I know that one! I saw it in the library at the Southern Air-"

I kick him under the table abruptly. Not in front of a stranger from the _Fire Nation_!

He makes a face at me then regains composure. "I saw it in a library once. Is it any good?"

"Actually, I was just about to give it to your sister here as a gift. I've read it many times already," he smiles.

"Oh that's not necessary," I say politely, covering my mouth shyly as I've still got a bit of food in my mouth.

"Please, I insist. It's not often I get to meet such a kind young woman," he smiles. "Or one with eyes filled with water."

Part of me feels defensive, as if he's already caught onto the fact I'm from the Water Tribe. Some members of the Southern Earth Kingdom do have blue eyes though, so we can often get by with this excuse, but other times, our mannerisms are a dead give away.

When I look over, I see Sokka shoving an appalling forkful of eggs and ham in his mouth, and then he jerks his head towards the door. I give him a nod to convey that I understand he's ready to go, then I rise and give a polite bow of my head to the elderly man.

"I do apologize for this abrupt departure but, we really must get a move on," I explain. "Long day ahead for us. Thank you for the tea recommendation."

"My pleasure. I wish you the safest of travels," he hands the book to me. "Please, do take it and humor and old man."

"O-okay," I stutter, taking the book and giving him a polite nod of the head.

"Safe travels," he tells me, then adds, "but do avoid the swamp area to the north."

Sokka thanks him and puts an arm around me protectively, then thanks him for the suggestion before we make a hasty retreat.

* * *

Collecting the things we need to buy is relatively easy; we go and buy the essential camping goods like canned food, sleeping rolls, matches, and the sort, and we make a much needed stop to purchase a few changes of clothes with specific attention to underwear and socks since we're fresh out. My hiking boots are almost worn out, but I decide they can take some more wear and tear before we need to make that investment.

Being the shopping maniac that he is, Sokka insists that we also make a stop by a pawn shop to buy a few more protective items. I get a large hunting knife (which I do intend to use for hunting but would intimidate any thugs), an extra canteen of water, and new pair of leather gloves that have the fingers cut out. Sokka, still mourning the loss of his boomerang, buys a few knives also and a gun with extra bullets. While I know how to shoot a gun, and have kept one on me for many expeditions, I much honestly prefer the use of element.

After settling payments and loading our things into our bags and onto our backs, we finally set out just past mid-morning towards the swamp. We head due north, stopping every once in a while to check the map and make sure we're plotting our course correctly. Once or twice along the way we stop to take a break for water and an a breather (our bags aren't so light), and we definitely make a pit stop for a simple lunch of cold rice with a bit of a salty soy-based sauce. We'll have a more suitable, hot dinner later on but for now, the plan is to keep trecking.

"Katara?" Sokka says, his mouth a bit full.

"Hm?" I reply, running some water over my bruise to see if I can hasten up the healing process any. It's, as I suspect, a futile attempt.

"What do you think we'll see in the swamp? Like, what kind of spirits?" he asks.

"I don't know," I reply, looking down. "I'm not sure what to expect at all."

He doesn't say anything more, and I finally look at him.

"Sokka... I'm scared," I admit softly.

"Me, too, sis," he replies faintly before giving a reassuring smile. "But we're in this together. Always have been, always will be. No matter what."

I feel a little better when he says this and give him a smile in response. Sokka can really drive me nuts sometimes (especially his snoring), but he can also be the best big brother.

It's late afternoon when we arrive outside the swamp. As desperately as we want to go into the swamp _now_ and find a friendly(-ish) spirit, Sokka thinks it's best we wait until tomorrow morning at first light. The spirits at night are much more hostile, typically, and it looks hard enough to see during the day as it is.

We backtrack a fair bit so we're not completely in a hot zone, and when we feel like we're far enough back to avoid any kind of definite spirit encounters; we'll wake up before the at and make it back to the swamp so we can have all day.

I have some dried meat in a pouch and decide to heat it up with a thin broth we bought earlier so we can have it for dinner. There are no travelers here; people don't come this way. I knew to expect that much, and since we're in a Fire Nation colony, it's a bit comforting since we know we won't run into patrols, but being alone is scary, too, because it also means we'll have to take turns watching and we can only keep the fire for a short amount of time. We're far enough back to avoid any immediate encounters, but we also don't want to invite them to our camp either.

Sokka insists I take the first watch since I was up first this morning, but I'm too anxious to sleep. I have to plead and argue with him a bit.

"Katara, you've got circles under your eyes," he fusses.

"I'm okay, really." I protest. "Please, I prefer to do the first watch."

"I just think-" he begins but I cut in.

"Sokka, you sleep first. I want to stay up."

"Agh, fine," he gives in. Sokka knows once I make up my mind, there's no changing it.

He unrolls his sleeping bag and settles in as I pour sand and dirt over the fire to extinguish it. No sense in wasting my bending water on a campfire. I blink my eyes several times to adjust to the darkness, looking up and noticing the faint glimmer of the moon behind the purplish sheen of the sky and the thick grey clouds.

Truth be told, I want to go into the swamp this exact moment. I want to find the spirit and get the answers, and move on. We don't know how many of these memory crystal reader things there are out there, and what if this Blue Spirit character finds it before we do? What if he finds out we have memory crystals and tries to take them? Part of me wants to dismiss all of this as mere coincidence, but something tells me something is different this time.

My grandmother has always told me stories of the spirits of fate and the golden threads they weave. The life of our world is spun on this unending, infinitely thick cord and each person's life is spun from the cord of the life of the earth, and for each life, more threads are connected to it, representing the connections in our lives to other people. Some are brief encounters, a mere connection before splitting away, but some are connected from one moment onwards and never drift apart until one's thread is cut, or that person dies. Regardless, this is the web of fate and life. This part of me wants to hold onto the hope that my string intersected with this mysterious Blue Spirit's thread because he was meant to lead me to this machine...

But Sokka and Dad have never really believed in fate or destiny, so I can hear their voices in my head telling me to stop being so ridiculous. Still. There's a sense of comfort that comes from thinking there are bigger forces out there, moving things along for us.

A noise catches my attention. I remain quiet and still, trying to listen for it closer. Perhaps... no, there it is again. Accompanied by a sweet smell of something that I can't place... I feel myself growing dizzy and confused and I reach over to try and stir Sokka but it's as if my arms are glued to my sides.

"_Katara_."

Someone is... whispering my name. My eyes grow heavy and I feel as if someone's given me a sleeping medicine. My head falls forwards a bit, but I snap it back up in a moment, only to find I'm not with Sokka anymore.

I'm at the edge of the swamp. Before I can even process the fact I seemed to have blacked out, or that someone (or _something_) has carried me or brought me all the way back to the swamp, my eyes catch something and my mind is overwhelmed with emotions and I feel them bubbling more and more inside me until they're about to burst.

"Mommy?" I ask, my eyes welling with tears as I recognize the figure at the edge of the swamp.

I see her turn her head sideways and smile at me, before turning around and retreating into the thick of the trees.

"Wait!" I call out, and I finally feel dam of emotions explode inside. This is enough to make my legs snap into action and I run into the swamp, not caring that I've left my brother behind, not caring about anything in the world - just that I've seen my mother. My legs carry me fast and quickly until I stumble over a raised tree root and fall flat on the ground.

I cry out and try to lift myself, but I can't. I'm pretty sure my ankle is sprained, and when I look around, I realize I'm completely lost. I have no idea where I came in, all I see is darkness and thick marshy greenery. I go to remove the water from my bending pouch to heal my ankle when I hear this piercing roar burst through the noise of frogs and crickets. It's so sharp and loud, I drop the water and cover my ears. Then all the sudden I see a terrifying dark spirit and I feel like this heavy weight is on me, crushing the oxygen from my lungs. My head feels dizzy and everything feels like it's spinning; I muster whatever energy I have and project as much water towards the spirit and it sends it reeling back.

It roars again and I cover my ears again, gasping for air.

"Katara!" I think I hear a far off voice call.

"Sokka," I try and gasp out.

My eyes grow heavy again as I continue gasping for air, before they close when something hot and warm grabs my face and snaps in my ear.

"Snap out of it!" the voice belonging to someone with gold eyes commands.

* * *

**A/N: **Cliffhanger! Thanks for sticking with this! Don't forget to read and review. My next update will probably be right around Christmas (maybe before or after), when I'm back Stateside! :D


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